


Counting Coup

by ZorroRojo



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Angst, First Time, M/M, OW, hc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-19
Updated: 2013-03-19
Packaged: 2017-12-05 20:06:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/727395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZorroRojo/pseuds/ZorroRojo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This work is unfinished.  I'm going to reread it and see if I can figure out where I was going with it.  It's been ten years since I wrote this, so no promises.  I'm posting it because it's been pretty well received and some people don't mind reading unfinished works.  Ironically, considering the number of WIPS I have,  I am not one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Three days left. That's all Chris had, and then he'd lose his chance again for who knew how many weeks. Vin would be out on the trail with Chanu and the young ones, and Chris would be left to his bottle and his right hand until Vin returned.

Chris poked at the logs in the wood-burning stove that warmed the chilly shack, and turned a surreptitious glance at his friend. Vin's hat sat low, the brim hiding his eyes, and his legs stretched out before him, hooked at the ankle. He was a picture of ease and relaxation. As much as Chris liked what he saw, he preferred the view when Vin was naked as the day he was born.

Chris had been lucky enough to see that view a few times, a couple of them right there on his bed. But the sweaty and fervent clutching together had yet to go much further. Night before, it almost had. One of Vin's firm butt cheeks had been in Chris' grasp, and he'd allowed the tips of his fingers to trail down the deep crack of Vin's behind. A couple of groans and grunts later, both of them had spent themselves, splashing their bellies and ending the events of the night.

There wasn't a doubt in Chris' mind that he'd have Vin naked and sweaty yet again before the night was out, but he didn't want to settle for Vin's hand, good as he was at using it. No, Chris wanted Vin's ass, and he wanted it bad. He just wasn't exactly sure how a man went about asking his friend if he could fuck him.

"You gonna look at me all night, or are you gonna do something with me?"

Chris grinned. Apparently, his glances weren't so subtle. Damn Tanner anyway, for hiding under his hat. Chris stood and walked behind Vin, and rested his hands on the knots on Vin's shoulders. "I'm gonna do something, you can count on it."

Chris kneaded and worked the tight muscles with his fingers and thumbs, feeling them ease under his touch. Vin sighed softly. "Wasn't what I had in mind, pard, but it'll do."

"Glad to hear it, 'cause after this, I'm thinking of getting some shut-eye."

Vin snorted, and Chris grinned. They both knew he was full of shit.

Chris eased the last of the knots, then in a fit of mischief, flipped the hat off Vin's head, sending it tumbling to the floor. Vin turned around and fixed him with a cold stare. Chris just smirked. "Was tired of looking down at that dusty old thing."

"That so?" Vin asked, one eyebrow arched up, as he slowly stood and moved the chair out of his way. He took Chris' shirt in hands, fisting them up high near the collar. One, quick jerk and the buttons scattered. "I was tired of lookin at this dusty old thing."

Chris' dick twitched as he felt his chest bared. Looked like he had Tanner in just the mood he wanted. "Anything else you want out of your way?"

"Them pants and boots, maybe," Vin said, nodding at the rest of Chris' clothes and raking a gaze up the length of Chris' body.

Chris cocked his head, as if thinking it over. "And what if I decide I want these pants and boots right where they are?"

Vin shrugged. "Then I guess they stay where they are." He turned to the bed  
and began shucking his own clothes on the way. "Suit yourself."

Vin tossed a truly smug grin over his shoulder as his shirt fell to the floor next to the bed, and Chris' scowl turned into a slow licking of his lips. Chris' heart thumped as he watched Vin toe off his boots. He swallowed hard when Vin's pants slid down his legs, revealing the tight, curved ass he  
wanted so much.

Vin eased onto the bed, sitting back near the head, resting on his elbows, his legs flopped in front of him casually. Chris soaked up the sight before him as he began tugging off his clothes. Vin's dick, thick and hard, lay flat against his belly, surrounded by rich, dark curls at the base and  
around his heavy balls.

Naked himself, finally, Chris stalked over the bed, and crawled onto it at Vin's feet. He grasped Vin at the calves and swept his hands up his thighs, eyes fixed on Vin's groin. There, at the tip of his dick, a trickle of moisture leaked out.

He wanted to dive down and lick away that shiny drop; he wanted to suck Vin's dick into his mouth, and rub his lips and tongue all over the velvety sac of his balls, and he wanted to pull Vin's legs up and bury his face in his ass and taste what he wanted to sink his dick into. But all he could do  
was sit there and look, and caress the hard muscles on Vin's thighs.

"Chris?" The question in Vin's voice brought Chris' eyes to Vin's.

Chris wasn't sure what to say. His hunger was becoming so sharp he couldn't think of how to put into words what he wanted, and he didn't think he should just start taking. Vin sat up and stroked from Chris' chest, to his shoulder, and up to Chris' jaw. He tilted his head, looking at Chris with a  
mix of confusion and a hunger of his own. He moved forward slowly, and brushed his lips over Chris', light at first, then firmer as he slid his tongue into Chris' mouth. This was something else they hadn't gotten around to yet, with all their groping and gettin' each other off. Chris liked it. A  
lot.

Soft and wet, the kiss sent tingles through him, and he sighed into it as it went on and on. Vin's thumb stroked his jaw in small circles, soothing Chris' urgency and helping him focus again on what he wanted. He stroked in return, along the warm skin of Vin's waist, up his chest and to his  
shoulders.

Finally, they pulled apart. Vin's lips were reddened and still moist. Chris wanted to keep kissing that full mouth while he was buried in Vin's body. That's what he wanted, and he wouldn't have it unless he asked.

"I want..."

"Want what?" Vin asked, still puzzled.

Chris rubbed his hands downward, over Vin's stomach and to the join of Vin's thighs and groin. He slowly fondled Vin's balls with this thumbs, daring to nuzzle under them as he kept his eyes on Vin's. Heart pounding as he waited, he saw understanding finally dawn.

Vin's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "You wanna fuck me?"

Chris grinned. "Yep."

Vin didn't look too happy about the idea of getting fucked. He threw Chris a narrow look, and his lips turned down into a small frown. Chris grinned broader. He hadn't said no, yet.

"What are you smiling so big about? I ain't said yes, Larabee."

"But you're gonna."

Vin's frown deepened and Chris chuckled, beginning again that slow stroking along Vin's balls. He glanced down, and saw that Vin's dick was still paying full attention.

"Aw, hell." Vin flopped down onto his back and blew out a resigned sigh.

Chris stopped himself from letting out a celebratory hoot. Wouldn't do to gloat. Vin could get awful testy.

Instead, he reached down onto the floor, where he had a vial of saddle oil. When he sat back up with it, he was greeted with a testy expression anyway. "You always keep saddle oil next to your bed?"

"Never know when you might need to do some softening up, Tanner."

"Well, you just remember, I ain't no saddle," Vin warned.

Chris threw himself down next to Vin. "No, but I'm betting you'll give me a hell of a ride."

"Funny. Best get on with it, then."

"You could sound a little happier about it."

Vin just gave him a look. So he was going to make him work for it, was he? Chris swept his free hand up Vin's leg, to his hip, then urged him onto his side, Vin's back to Chris' chest. Damn, but Vin had one fine ass on him. Chris took a handful and squeezed, loving the warm skin against his palm, and the way the firm muscle yielded under him.

He watched Vin's profile as he fondled his ass a little more, this time with oil-slick fingers. A glide over the tightly puckered hole between the lush cheeks brought a flush to Vin's face. Chris rubbed the little hole a bit more, and nuzzled his nose into Vin's neck.

"Ya know," Chris murmured into Vin's nape, "there's a little trick an old horndog once told me about, for being with working girls and making sure you don't leave any babies behind."

"Sweet talker, you," Vin said softly while Chris toyed with the clenched ring under his fingertip.

Chris chuckled softly and went on, "I'm just saying, I know how to do this."

"I--" the fingertip slid inside "-- hear ya," Vin moaned as he finished.

Damn, Vin was tight. And warm, and like a moist glove clinging to his finger. He nudged a little deeper, then began drawing in and out. Vin's breath grew ragged and he licked his lips. Chris swirled his tongue into Vin's ear, then nibbled on the lobe, all the while sliding in and out of  
Vin's hole, feeling it gradually loosen.

Chris skimmed Vin's neck with his lips, tongue occasionally taking a sweep to drink in the salty tang of skin, while he fingered with more and more vigor. Vin began short rolls of his hips, moving and back and forth onto the  
motion of Chris' finger.

A little more oil, and Chris worked on wedging in a second finger. Vin grunted softly, but let him in. Damn, he was still so tight, but finally, both were moving in and out a little easier. Vin stroked his dick while Chris finger-fucked him, and Chris could see that there was still a glimmer  
of clear fluid smeared at the tip.

Vin twisted his neck to look at Chris. There was a wildness in his eyes, even if he didn't look real comfortable. "Might as well start gettin yourself inside me." His voice was a little shaky, too.

"Too soon, Vin. Need a little more loosening up." Much as he wanted to sink right into him, he didn't want to rip him up.

"Now or never, cowboy," Vin said, a sort of desperation making Vin's voice sound a little choked.

Chris nodded. Vin wanted it now or never, it'd have to be now, 'cause Chris wasn't going to settle for never. He slicked-up his dick best he could, then lifted Vin's leg up, grapsing him by the thigh, and used his free hand to take aim at that tiny entrance.

"Deep breath, pard," Chris said, nudging his dick.

Vin nodded, eyes squeezed shut, and took in a lungful, then let it out slow. On that exhale, Chris began pushing his way inside. Once the head of his dick popped through, Chris slid on in, with one long stroke.

Buried inside the tight, wet tunnel, Chris panted. So warm, Vin was so warm in there, and hot and alive against him, breathing ragged himself. Chris mouthed the scruff of Vin's jaw, then rubbed his lips upward to his ear again. His legs trembled with the effort to keep still, to keep from driving  
impossibly further into Vin.

Vin had left his flagging erection to grip the bedcovers instead, Chris noticed. He let go of Vin's leg, leaving it for him to hold up, then slid his hand to Vin's groin. He raked his fingers through the dense hair before grasping the shaft and stroking it firmly back to full hardness.

Chris' dick had demands of its own, though, throbbing in the hot tightness of Vin's ass. Slowly, he dragged back out, and shoved back in again, still stroking Vin. Again he pulled out, and pushed right back in, this time making his way inside a little faster. Vin moaned softly, hands still  
clenched in the bedcovers.

Chris felt that moan rumble gently from Vin's back to his chest. He sighed into Vin's ear, and felt him shiver as he began to pump in and out steadily, his dick gliding in easier each time. Soon enough, Vin pushed back in time with him, meeting his thrusts with little shoves of his own. Chris gripped Vin's dick a little tighter and picked up the pace even more.

Vin took a ragged breath and then panted, hard. His hand flew over top of Chris', guiding his strokes over his dick, and his body began to quake. His ass clenched around Chris, and then he let out a strangled groan. Vin's hand over Chris' stopped his come from spurting out too far, but both their fingers were dripping with hot splashes of it.

Chris licked a bead of sweat from Vin's temple, and tightened his hold on Vin's dick when he shivered. Vin's breathing evened out and he finally let out one, long sigh, then went boneless. Chris grinned into Vin's neck. "Don't get too comfortable, pard. This ain't over yet."

Chris let go of Vin's dick and rolled him onto his stomach, still buried deep inside him. Lying over Vin's back, he began thrusting once more. He slid his hands down Vin's arms and twined his fingers into Vin's, his hips still working to drive his dick in and out of the sweaty body under him.

He raked his teeth over Vin's neck, fucking him harder and faster, hearing nothing but his own panting and Vin's quiet moans, and feeling nothing but the warmth of Vin's flesh against and around his own. His thighs tightened as urgency pooled in his balls, and then the floodgates opened as orgasm ripped through him. He came hard, shooting deep into Vin.

Drained, he collapsed to Vin's back, his face buried into the wild tangle of Vin's hair.

Long moments later, Vin wriggled underneath him. "Hey, cowboy. Don't you go getting too comfortable, neither. I ain't a mattress."

Chris smiled lazily. "That's a damn shame. You'd make a good one."

Vin blew an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Larabee. Hard to breath down here."

"Fine," Chris griped, but rolled over, still grinning.

He cracked an eye open, sensing he was being watched. Vin had a wary look on his face. Kinda funny, for a man who'd just gotten poked in the ass. Too late to be getting wary, Chris thought. "What?" Chris asked, when Vin only continued to stare at him.

"When you start grinnin' like that, I start to worry, is all."

"Nothing to worry about, Tanner. I'm just thinking I got another three whole days of this. Not bad, you know. A man could get used to it."

Vin snorted and rolled over, back to Chris. Chris laughed.

"What's so damn funny? I ain't said yes to doing that again, Larabee."

Chris nudged up close to Vin and flopped an arm over his waist, and rubbed Vin's belly. "But you're gonna."

Vin tossed a glare over his shoulder. "Maybe."

Chris settled into a comfortable spot, used his arm around Vin to pull him closer. Wasn't no maybe about it, and they both knew it.

Chris drifted off to sleep with the vision of taking Vin on his back, knees bent back to his armpits. Yeah, that'd be the best way to fuck him and still do more of that kissing. It was gonna be a hell of a three days.


	2. 2

Town was just starting to show some signs of life, but it was still too early to be grabbing a whiskey bottle; too early even for Chris. He settled down in the chair outside the jail and picked up the coyote he'd whittled the day before. A few more touches, and it'd be looking pretty good.

As he set his knife into his little carving, he wondered how long the town's people would be giving him those strange looks they'd been giving him the last week. Folks actually seemed disappointed that he hadn't been snapping as much as usual. He couldn't imagine telling them they had Vin Tanner and his fine mouth and ass to thank for that. Then again, seeing their uptight faces if he did tell them, that might be fun.

A little fun, a good friend, a good fuck; amazing what those could do for a man's temperament. He'd known from the start that he could rest easy whenever Vin had his back, but the idea that he could have that, plus the hot, sweaty fucking, all in one person, now that had appeal. Hell, it was better than just hot, sweaty fucking. Vin had more fire than any whore Chris had taken to bed, and could be as cantankerous as an irritated bull. Put the two together, and Chris had the wildest bed partner of his life.

An evil grin pulled at Chris' mouth at the thought of Vin's reaction if he actually said any of that out loud. He'd either get his ass shot full of buckshot or they'd have a tussle about it and then Chris would get another poke at his spirited friend.

The pounding of horse's hooves on the hard-packed dirt of the road brought Chris' head up sharply. JD? Where the hell was Buck? They'd left together, taking advantage of the quiet in the town for a day out. Chris' stomach lurched as JD came to an abrupt stop in front of him and nearly bounced off his horse. From the looks of him and his horse, he'd been riding all night.

"Chris--" JD panted and tried to draw breath.

"Settle down, and tell me, JD."

"Ya gotta come... Vin... something happened to him."

Vin? What the hell was he talking about?

"What happened, JD? Where is he?"

JD bent at the waist, resting his palms on his thighs as he struggled to speak. He looked up at Chris, his eyes wide and filled with something Chris could only call terror. Made his gut clench. "Spit it out, JD, what the hell's wrong with Vin?"

"We need-- we need a wagon. Gotta get Nathan, too. He's... he's hurt, Chris, Vin's hurt bad."

Chris swallowed the fear that tightened his throat.

"Get your horse to the livery and saddle Ezra's. He's faster than any horse Yosemite might have to loan out. I'll get Nathan. We ride in five minutes."

 

Chris was going to kill JD. They'd ridden for hours, yet the kid wouldn't tell him anything, except for that when he left, at least, Vin was still breathing. They'd been riding as fast as the horses would let them... but Chris wouldn't let up, and neither would the kid, even knowing what the pace was doing to their horses.

Vin was alive. That's what mattered. Trouble was, he wasn't sure Vin'd still be that way when they got there. Wasn't any other explanation for JD to be willing to risk a horse that wasn't his to risk. At a normal pace, they'd be almost a day's ride out of Four Corners by now. Onto Indian land... right where Vin said he'd be. 

Vin was tough as old leather. Chris refused to think about what a bullet would do to fragile flesh and bone. Vin was the only one of the seven who'd never been seriously injured. Smart enough to keep his head down when the bullets flew, ornery enough to take on men twice his size in a brawl - and be the one still standing when the dust settled; in the time they'd ridden together, he'd only suffered some bruises and a few broken ribs. Cool-headed enough not to go seeking trouble if it didn't need finding, Vin steered clear of trouble when it came looking. And just the man willing and able to end it if trouble needed some help ending. Hell, Vin'd been blown up by *dynamite* and came out of it on his feet, more or less. Dependable, steady, calm and rock solid. Opposite of Chris and exactly what he needed. 

Only, it was all an illusion. Vin's flesh could be pierced by a bullet, just as easy as any of them. He wouldn't think about Vin hanging from a tree, his tongue black and swollen, his eyes bugging out, body swinging in the wind. No... bounty hunters would have taken Vin to Texas, not left him out here. What was left? Animal attack? Accident? A fight with Chanu? Uprisings among the Indians were not unheard of, but Kojay's band only wished to be left in peace. Vin, Nathan and Josiah were the only three among the Seven truly welcome in the small village - a fact Chris was made aware of through wary stares and distance kept - and only a grudging gratitude kept the few young braves left among the band from running them off when they had business in the village. Vin, though, was accepted enough to be invited on this ritual - and wanted to go badly enough to leave Chris just as they were stumbling into something important. 

Chris wouldn't think about Vin's wide smile as he packed for the trip, couldn't keep out the image of Vin looking back, twice, at Chris before disappearing into an arroyo. Refused to acknowledge what might have been his last glimpse of his best friend - alive anyway. 

Chris checked the backtrail, noting Nathan's mount having trouble keeping up with he and JD's younger horses. Not even a dust cloud was visible from Josiah and the wagon, somewhere back in the distance. 

Chris reigned in, hard, and yelled, "Whoa," his arm in the air, calling a rest. JD pulled up his horse, not twenty yards from Chris, mouth open, ready to question... until he saw Chris' face. He shut his mouth, grabbed his canteen and jumped down from his horse - keeping his distance from Chris.

Chris seethed atop his mount, sweat slicked, overheated, tired and his guts gnawing their way into his throat. He took a long draw from his canteen, throwing it back over his saddle horn in disgust at the warm, metallic taste of the stale water. Hot enough to spoil his water in half a day. No wonder their horses were about spent.

He dismounted, keeping his blowing horse between himself and the sun. JD still wouldn't look at him. Well, that was about to end.

Chris, moving faster than he should have been able, tired as he was, invaded JD's space, staring at him until the kid looked away. Long minutes passed until JD would look his way. "I want to know what you saw, JD. We're going to wait for Nathan, you're going to trade horses with him, and you're going to tell me. Enough of this shit. We still got a few hours riding to do and I want to know now."

The venom in Chris' voice visibly shook JD, who already looked spooked enough. JD nodded, then shook his head. "I didn't get near him, Chris. Buck wouldn't let me."

Jesus. "What did you see then, JD? I'm not asking you again." Chris would beat it out of him. His skin itched, his head hurt... he couldn't swallow... he couldn't take the not knowing. Even hearing the words 'Vin's dead' would be better than this. For a half-second.

Chris watched JD check Nathan's position, judging how much time he had... how much space he had to fill before he could get away from this interrogation. Chris, not caring that he wasn't helping JD any by boring holes into him... forcing him to talk about what he saw... moved in closer, knowing his posture held only a threat, not caring that it did. "JD." he prompted, not at all gently.

"Me and Buck were riding out to Agua Fria. We were going to go swimming at the springs and maybe visit some ladies Buck knows." 

"What happened?" Chris' clenched jaw turned the words into knives. JD stepped further away, putting some distance between himself and the menacing figure in black.

"I saw some vultures in the distance... wanted to check on it. Buck said we were on Indian land and that whatever it was just wasn't any of our business. We left all our responsibilities back in town, he said. I started to ride out to where they were circling. He wasn't in any hurry to follow, said it was probably a coyote or a deer. I told him there were too many. He.." JD stopped talking and looked Chris dead in the eye. 

Chris wished he hadn't. Realized in a moment of clarity JD hadn't looked him in the eye once since he'd ridden into town. What he saw didn't help the knives in his guts any. JD, close to tears, turned his back to Chris and fiddled with his saddle. "Nathan won't be able to ride in my saddle. The stirrups aren't long enough, even let down."

Chris let him fiddle, let him get control of himself. Wondered if it would kill him, the not knowing. "JD?" 

JD's gaze went to the horizon; Nathan was no longer an indiscriminate speck, his outline and speed apparent. JD hefted his saddle off Ezra's horse, smoothed the blanket and checked Nathan's position again. He refused to look at Chris. He offered his horse water from his hat, then did the same for Chris' mount. JD waited until Nathan was in earshot before speaking again.

"The vultures were picking meat off a pile of... off a person. Off what used to be a person. One was on his head, it looked up at me and it had an eye in it's beak. I couldn't look away, Chris. Buck came up behind me and started yelling at it. He was shooting at it and the buzzards started squawking and Peso was making a ruckus - it was really loud then Buck sent me away. I didn't even see him... Vin, I mean... all I saw was the bodies."

Chris looked to Nathan, already dismounted and pulling off his gear. They'd be riding again soon and he needed to know before he could get back on his damn horse. "How many bodies, JD?"

"At least two that I saw. The one the vultures were after... It was a kid. He was tied down. His skin was missing. The whole ride back to town, I couldn't decide if it was the vultures or something else that did that."

"What about the other body?"

"He looked like he might have been alive - didn't have a mark on him I could see. Something was on his belly though. Only when I got closer, it was," JD straightened and puked up what water he'd managed to get down. His eyes widened and he retched again, surprised at his body's rebellion. He wiped his face with his shirt and put his wet hat back on his head. "Shit," he moaned. "Dammit, Chris, someone cut him open, belly to throat, and piled his insides onto his stomach. Like he was some kind of animal, butchered for the table. I've never seen a person's insides on the outside like that before. There weren't any other marks on him. Made me wonder if he was alive or dead when they cut him. " 

Chris wouldn't look at the kid. Didn't want to know any more. He only wanted to get where they were going and be done with it. Nathan finished wiping down his mount, grabbed JD's saddle and put it on his horse. He looked to Chris, his expression easily read - questioning why they were still there and not mounted up. 

Chris wasn't going to ask JD any more questions. He stood, staring off into the distance. 

"Who was it, JD?" asked Nathan as he put his own saddle onto Ezra's horse.

JD, with a task to focus on, finished cinching his saddle and answered without visibly flinching. "It was Chanu."

Chris snapped back from wherever he'd gone and asked softly, "Where was Vin?"

"I told you, I didn't see him. When Buck rode up behind me, he shot at the vultures, yelled something, then went off to the east a ways. I couldn't look away from the bodies. Took Buck shooting in the air for me to remember where I was. He told me to get my ass on my horse, get back to town, get a wagon and you and Nathan. When I tried to get closer he started screaming at me. Telling me to go away."

"How do you know he's still alive, then!"

"Buck wouldn't have said to bring Nathan if he wasn't. He kept yelling Vin's name, telling him to hold on. Sounded like he was begging. I tried to get Buck to tell me what was wrong but he told me to get the hell out of there. I've never seen him like that, Chris. I wanted to see Vin. He wouldn't let me." 

JD didn't look like he was going to say anything else. Chris didn't want him to. He pointed at JD, then at the ground. "You stay here. Wait for Josiah. Meet us there as soon as you can. Nathan?" Chris asked as he started riding out, "Anything you need from the wagon, you'd better ride back and get it. " Chris kicked his horse into a gallop, leaving his friends behind.


	3. 3

Between the shade of the tree and the lean-to Buck made from what was left of the ruined sweat lodge, he finally had a decent place to keep the worst of the sun off of Vin and the indian boy.

It'd been a tough call, whether to get his two wounded better covered right away, or to move the other bodies out of view first. He'd settled for getting Vin and the boy under the tree, then moving the bodies, then adding to the shade with the lean-to.

Truth be told, he was grateful to be so damned busy. If he'd slowed down or stopped, he'd be thinking too much on what it was exactly he was looking at. He'd come too close to thinking on it when he'd pulled Chanu's and the other boy's body back behind a cluster of nearby boulders. Caught himself thinking that he'd hurt 'em if he wasn't careful where he touched 'em. Then he'd just had to keep his mind off it and get it done. He wasn't sure how the indians took care of their dead, so he wasn't sure if burying them was a good idea. He'd heard tell of funeral pyres, and thought he might to do that for 'emonce he'd got back to doing what he could for Vin and the boy who'd been left not-so mercifully alive.

Turned out the two weren't in as much danger of dying as he'd first thought when he sent JD back to town for Nathan, but they weren't in the clear, that was for sure. He reached for one of the bandages he'd made from his clean, spare shirt, and doused them with the water he'd pulled from the creek. He wanted to clean the cuts on the boy's neck again before he tried wrapping them.

As he swabbed at the longest gash, frightened brown eyes blinked open and looked at him with undisguised fear. "Easy, now," Buck whispered, wanting so much to chase away the horror he saw reflected back at him. "It's all right. I ain't gonna hurt ya."

He slowly lifted his hand from the boy's neck and held up the tattered cloth so he could see it. He dumped a little more water on it, and the boy's eyes followed his every move. He placed the cool, wet cloth back on the boy's neck and gently swiped. A single teardrop fell in a trickle from the corner of one dark eye, but the boy didn't utter a sound. "I know, kid, I know. It hurts, and all this was just wrong. But I'm gonna help ya, and we're gonna get you back to your family. You just rest now."

The eyes fluttered a little, then closed, a small sigh coming from his parted lips as he drifted back to sleep.

"That's it," Buck murmured. "You'll be all right."

Buck pulled back and put the wet cloth down, exchanging it for a dry one. He didn't want to wrap it around the kid's neck, fearing he'd scare the kid into thinking Buck was going to strangle him with it. He couldn't think of any other way to get it bandaged, though, and he needed to do just that.

Sorry, kid, he thought to himself, real sorry. He tucked an end of the cloth under the back of his neck and pulled from the other side till it was around. He tied a single knot in it, loose, and tucked the edges under, keeping air and dust away from the wounds until Nathan could get there and  
stitch them up. By the grace of somebody or other, the cuts had missed arteries, or Buck would have three bodies beyond those boulders to deal with. Two was more than enough, he decided, and finished cleaning the boy  
up.

When he turned to Vin, Buck let out a shaky breath. This was hard. Vin was one of the toughest, wiliest men he'd ever met, but also had one of the gentlest souls he'd ever known. He'd always envied Vin's determination to follow his own path, a path he made based on what he believed was right and what he knew was wrong. To have found him as he did, tied down spread-eagle on his belly, stripped of dignity as much as clothes, beaten and... used... it made his stomach turn with the deep knowledge that there wasn't anything at all right about that.

He sat next to his unconscious friend and tended the numerous scrapes on his scalp. Bastards, whoever they were, had hacked off Vin's hair, close to his head in many places, and weren't particularly careful with their knives. Vin hadn't really come to during the time Buck got him untied and a light blanket thrown over him, and he didn't come to now, as Buck dabbed at the patchwork of cuts that still trickled a little with thick, sluggish blood now and then.

Buck had positioned Vin onto his side, so he wouldn't be lying on the blisters that had flared up from the hot sun. "Probably just as well that you ain't awake for all this," Buck said softly, taking extra care with a cut that edged over Vin's temple before reaching for another cloth strip.

He scooted down to Vin's hip and gingerly lifted the blanket off of it. There, on Vin's lower back, just at the top of his left buttock, was a wound that both puzzled and sickened Buck. A design in the outline of a bucking horse had been branded into Vin's skin. Saddle brand, Buck knew.

Shaking his head in disgust, Buck took the corner of the cloth and wiped it in his jar of salve, getting a good scoop, then set about applying it as gently as he could to the puckered and blistering pink skin of that brand. Vin groaned softly and twitched, but didn't come fully awake. Buck looked back and forth from Vin's face to the brand, watching his reactions closely.

"I know, pal, has to sting like hell, still. Almost done."

Buck finished with the last edge, then blew an exhausted sigh. One more wound to tend, then he'd fetch some more fresh water. He wet the other edge of his cloth and scooted down a little further. Of all the injuries he'd had, and had to tend, this was one that he hadn't had to deal with till now.

Easy as he could, he dipped the cloth into the crack of Vin's buttocks and frowned heavily when it came back with streaks of thick, dark, blood. He rinsed that corner of the cloth and pressed between the buttocks again. Vin jerked, and whimpered with what little energy his abused body had left. "Easy there, easy. I know you don't like this any more than I do. Just a little more, and  
it'll be over."

Buck's head pounded with a wrenching ache. He hated this, hated it more than he thought he could stand. Still, he cleaned the tears until the cloth came back without blood, and then replaced the blanket over Vin's hip. He crawled up to Vin's head, his hand hovering until he found a place at the base of Vin's skull that wasn't covered with cuts, then settled his palm. He stroked gently, and whispered softly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Vin. Help's coming, pard, I promise."

 

Dusk began to settle in the little valley, and despite his lack of appetite from what he'd seen that day, he knew he should eat and at least try to get something into the indian boy. Vin was best off with the water he could get in him, what with that busted jaw and not having come fully awake, Buck decided. Between what he'd packed along for him and JD and what Vin and Chanu had had-- and what the bastards had not destroyed-- Buck soon had some jerky and beans for himself and bland broth for the boy.

He sat next to the kid and put the cup next to him. He roused him with an easy nudge to his shoulder. The boy's eyes opened slowly, and as each time he'd woken before, his first reaction was to shrink with fear. "It's all right now, it's all right. We just need to get some of this broth in ya. That's it, sit up a bit now." He helped the boy up, got him sitting upright, even if he looked a mite woozy. He held the cup to his lips, and with the other hand, steadied the boy's head. "Drink a little bit, now. Don't taste all that good, but it'll help."

The boy looked skeptical, but sipped a little of the broth. His face scrunched in obvious distaste, and Buck smiled a little. "I ain't known for my cooking, and I didn't have a lot to work with, here. A little jerky and some of them roots for flavor is about it. It ain't that bad, though, is it? Try a little more for me?" Buck encouraged the kid to take a little more, and despite his obvious aversion for it, he did sip nearly half the cup.

"There ya go. How about some water, now?" Buck handed him the freshly filled canteen, still cupping the boy's head, and he took several slow drinks. "That's it, now you just rest yourself here for a bit, and I'll keep watch."

He eased the boy back down and covered him with a couple of the heavier blankets he'd gathered from his and Vin's supplies. He stayed a moment, drawn to the sadness in the child's eyes. And he was a child, Buck decided. Couldn't have been more than twelve, and no matter what kinda growing-up ritual indian boys went on, at twelve they were still boys. No child should ever have to go through the hell that this one had seen and lived through. Buck found himself resting a hand on the boy's forehead, stroking gently. "I'll watch over you. Ya got my word," he promised softly as the eyes  
finally closed.

Buck waited until he saw even breaths lifting and falling from the boy's chest, then he stood and gathered the rest of the blankets for Vin. His own coat would do for himself. He didn't want to get too cozy anyway. He'd stay more alert if he felt a bit of the night air when it settled into the  
valley, and settle it would, he knew for certain, despite the heat of the days.

He built a fire before the sun sank all the way into the distant hills, and moved Vin and the boy a little closer to it. Not so close that they might catch a spark from the crackle of the wood, but close enough to catch more of its warmth. Vin, he just pulled down a ways by carefully dragging the  
blanket he was lying on. The boy, he picked up, ground blanket all, and settled him with care. The kid barely popped an eye open, which would have worried Buck, but then he figured that by now the boy was sleeping off the exhaustion of what had happened more than was truly going in and out of  
consciousness.

He got the horses settled on the other side of the tree, and made sure to give Peso a few extra rubs on his nose. Whoever had attacked Vin and Chanu and the boys--and Buck was beginning to have his suspicions-- had taken off with the indian ponies but for some reason had left Peso behind. 

Buck eased himself next to Vin and picked up the plate of beans he'd set aside earlier. He managed a few more bites, but just couldn't take anymore. He tossed the tin plate next to his feet and looked down at his unconscious friend. He'd sure been put through it, and yet he was still there, still  
alive. The boy was a fighter, no doubt. Vin had a lot of grit when he needed it, and wasn't no quitter. Once Nathan got there and started doing the things Buck didn't have a clue to do, Vin would be all right. Buck had to believe it.

"The seven of us wouldn't be the team that we are, if it wasn't for you, Vin Tanner. You know that, don't ya? Hell, we'd follow Chris anywhere, all of us would. But you'd be there to make sure we got all back out again. You got more sense than all of us, and more heart than most everyone I ever known."

Of course, Vin didn't answer, but Buck kept talking to him anyway, hoping that somewhere inside that head of his, Vin could hear him, knew he was safe, and that someone he could trust was looking after him while he couldn't do it himself.

Wasn't right at all that Vin was so hurt, so vulnerable. It made Buck seethe inside that anyone would dare take away the independence and freedom, such as it was, that Vin had made for himself despite the bounty on his head. "You'll get it back, Vin. You'll get back what they took from you.  
We'll help if you need it... if you want it. But you have to get better 'fore that can happen. So you have to hang in there. You have to hold on till the others get here and we can take you home."

Buck reached again for that spot at the base of Vin's skull, the place where he'd found himself touching Vin now and then, for his friend's reassurance and his own. Buck felt better feeling the warmth radiating from Vin's body. Told Buck he was still alive and still fighting. "You hear me, Vin? You hold on." Buck left him with one more soft stroke, and then set about gathering the longer branches he'd gathered earlier. He had a couple of pyres to build.

 

It took him until long into the night, but he finally had them ready, and sturdy enough to hold the bodies. He'd stopped often to check on Vin and the kid, getting a little more water into Vin, and a little more water and broth into the boy. It was slow going, but he was satisfied with the job he'd  
done.

At last, the pyres were ready to light. He was grateful he'd had enough wits about him to be sure Vin and the boy would be upwind of it. Didn't need to make the horror worse for them by having the smell of the burning bodies covering them. His biggest dilemma now that he had the bodies ready was what to do with what he assumed were their possessions. He'd found one of those things that looked like the one Vin used to wear around his neck... medicine something... medicine bundle. Was it supposed to go with him, in the fire? Or was it supposed to go to his family? What if the one he found was Vin's and not Chanu's or the boy's? And what about the little horse carving he'd found in the mess of what had been laying the camp? And that little whistle thing?

Buck couldn't stand the thought of those things being lost forever. Maybe the boys had a brother or cousin in the tribe, someone who'd want a little something that belonged to the ones they'd lost? In the end, he kept those things tightly in his hands as he watched the bodies licked up by the flames. He thanked the stars that it wasn't Vin up there, and that one of the boys had been spared. He didn't want any more possessions to take back to grieving families. He didn't want any of this. He didn't want death and pain and grief, for himself or for the people he cared about. He wanted Nathan and Chris to come riding over that ridge any minute and and for them take some of that ache away that was weighing him down.

He knew it wasn't possible. They were a good twelve hours away yet, probably. But it didn't stop him from looking past the unforgiving flames of the funeral pyre, and to the ridge beyond.

***********************************************

He hadn't slept a wink, but Buck wouldn't have wanted to anyway. He knew he'd only have been subjected to images of the death and brutality he'd had to face the day before and into the night. He was finding it harder and harder to stay alert, though, and that worried him. He didn't want Vin or the boy to take a turn for the worse because of him. Both had a family of sorts to get back to.

Soon after sunrise, he had some coffee going, and that helped. Until he saw the boy struggling to sit up, his face scrunched in some sort of distress. He was beside him quickly, helping him up, asking softly what was wrong.

The boy looked up him, a pleading in his eyes that nearly broke his heart. Buck didn't know if the boy just didn't speak English, or if some of those cuts on his throat had gotten deeper than he realized and that was why he wasn't talking. Either way, Buck had a dilemma on his hands, not knowing what the kid needed.

A few anxious glances at his lap and a flush to his smooth face, and Buck suddenly realized what it was that had the boy so upset.

"Oh, I get it now. Come on, nothing to be embarrassed about, kid. Call of nature, is all. I'll help ya up." He got the boy to his feet and guided him behind the tree. The boy leaned on it for support, and Buck kept a hand on the kid's shoulder. He turned his head, trying to offer at least a little  
privacy to soothe the young one's pride.

A second later, he heard an unmistakable but soft sigh as the boy finally relieved himself. A tug on his sleeve, and he finally looked back to see that he'd properly tucked himself away and was ready to go back to his blanket.

He got the boy settled down with some water and then turned to check on Vin.

Aw, hell. Vin hadn't come conscious but a few times, and wasn't anywhere near coherent. Didn't mean his body wouldn't have demands, though. Vin hadn't pissed himself, Buck discovered with a quick check, so he'd need to have his bladder emptied sometime soon. Buck had given him enough water over  
the course of the day and the night before that his body should damn well be demanding to get rid of some by now. Dehydration was Vin's biggest threat and he wouldn't be clear until his body started passing some of the water Buck had coaxed into him.

He crouched next to his friend and shook his head. "If we're lucky, pard, you won't remember this part of it all," he found himself whispering. And then he felt like a horse's ass. With all Vin had been through, needing help taking a piss wouldn't be at the top of the list of what he'd want to forget.

He knelt behind him and nudged his shoulder, trying to get a response out of him. "Come on, Vin. Time to get up for a bit. Got some business to take care of."

He got a barely audible groan out of him, but it was a start. He wedgded a hand under his other shoulder, and gently propped him up. His head lulled a bit, and Buck slipped a hand around him to pat his cheeks with the backs of his fingers, careful not to jar his busted up jaw. "Wake up, now. Come on, you can do it."

Vin held his head up, not steady in the least, but he was doing it on his own. "Atta boy. Stay with me, now."

Vin's eyes only barely cracked open, and then shut again, but he was still holding up his own head. "All right now. This ain't the way neither of us wants it, but it's something that needs to be done."

Both still upright but on their knees, Buck tugged him away from his blanket, a couple feet was enough, and braced himself behind the smaller man. Buck fumbled with the buttons of the long-johns he'd put Vin into-- a pair of his own-- and sent a prayer that Vin would just know what to do  
next. Of course, not being much of a church-going man, unless the pews were gonna be filled with beautiful women, Buck just knew this little prayer would go unanswered.

"Just remember, Tanner, I ain't after your virtue. Let's get this over with, all right?" Buck reached into the long-johns and tugged Vin's penis free, aiming-- as it was-- towards the brush a bit away from them. He pressed into Vin's lower belly with the arm wrapped around him, and encouraged him to wake up enough to let his body do what it needed. "You know how to do this, I know you ain't forgot. Let some of that out now, ya hear?"

Vin let out another soft groan. "Come on, ya need to piss, Vin."

A few seconds later, the sounds of urine streaming into the brush made Buck smile for the first time that morning. So what if it made him deranged, he decided. His friend was hanging in there, just as he'd asked, and Buck felt the distinct relief that came with hope.

When Vin was definitely finished, Buck tucked him back where he belonged, and eased him back and onto his blanket. He reached for the canteen and pulled Vin into his lap, prepared to get a few more swallows down Vin before he got him all the way back down again. Getting water into him was no easier then it had been the day before. He was wasting water, he knew, but getting Vin to swallow was no easy feat. Water dribbled out of the side of Vin's mouth and Buck slowed the flow to a trickle. Damn, between the bruising on the side of his face and the obviously dislocated jaw, Buck had a hard time just positioning Vin to get the water into him.

By about noontime, Buck had Vin and the kid under the lean-to and the tree again. The two horses were watered and back in the meager shade on the other side of them. Buck had saved the boy from another batch of that awful broth and had mashed some of the warm beans for him, instead. He figured that would be easy to swallow, in case his throat was hurting him, and offered more nourishment than the broth, for certain.

There was little more he could do until help arrived, save get some water now and then, and tend the wounds on the two injured boys relying on him. Sure, Vin was a grown man, and a capable one at that. But lying there so vulnerable, so dependent on him for survival, Buck couldn't help but focus on everything youthful about him. Under the stubble, there was an almost boyish face. And Buck had seen those wise blue eyes shine with an almost childlike spark every now and again. Cold and dangerous when he needed to be, gentle and hopeful when he could afford to be. More than anything else, Buck wanted the others to get there soon, to do something to make sure this contrary friend of theirs lived long enough to be both dangerous and hopeful again. It was long, miserable wait in that hot sun, and Buck's own optimism wavered a little as the afternoon waned.

The sound of hoofbeats on the other side of the ridge brought Buck to full attention, and he had his rifle cocked and aimed in seconds. Relief flooded through him as Nathan and Chris galloped over the crest of the ridge and toward him. The horses came to a stop several feet from Buck's campsite, Chris out of the saddle in a flash. Buck swallowed hard at the ferocity that knitted Chris' eyebrows together.

"He's alive, Chris," he found himself assuring. "He don't look so good, but he's holding on."

Chris swept past him and knelt beside Vin. He hadn't yet stirred without Buck's prompting him, and he was frighteningly still now, as Chris gently ran his fingers over the stubble and uneven patches of hair that adorned his cut-up scalp.

"Nathan?" Chris shouted over his shoulder.

"On my way," Nathan called, having grabbed his saddle bags to bring with him. He was there beside Chris and Vin quickly, leaving Buck to stand off to the side, at a loss for how to help.

Chris stared at Vin, looking him up and down, his mouth tightening into a grimace as he saw the extent of the damage. "What the hell is he doing in these long-johns?" Chris barked. Vin's buckskins were clearly right there, folded and under Vin's head to make more of a pillow.

Buck swore under his breath before he answered. "I wanted him as comfortable  
as I could get him. He got some ugly bruises on his legs, blisters on his back, and he was..."

Nathan and Chris both looked up, waiting, neither too patiently.

"Hell. He's been used, Chris. And he's been bleeding. It's stopped for the most part, but he's torn up and bruised pretty bad."

The rage inside of Chris was plain for all of them to see. Buck ignored it, knowing it was the best thing he could do for time being. "It ain't... it ain't bled in a while, so I'm pretty sure his other wounds are what we all need to be worrying about right now. He was so dry that his blood was thick and dark, but I got some water into him and he started passing it this morning."

"You done good, Buck," Nathan said, taking in the cuts on Vin's head and the busted jaw. "His jaw's dislocated. Might be cracked too, but it doesn't feel broken. It's gonna hurt like hell when I reset it, and it's probably gonna have to be soon. Longer it goes, the harder it's going to be to get it right again. The muscles are already tightening up." Nathan looked up and surveyed the late afternoon sky.

"We don't want to be traveling with him at night, not like this. Won't be able to keep close enough eye on him. We'll have to wait till dawn. I'll get that jaw reset then, and give him some laudenum if he's come around enough for it to be safe, so he'll sleep along the way."

Buck ached inside all over again as he watched the pain twist Chris' face. He couldn't think of a damn thing to say to make any of it go away, so he just stood there off to the side of them and told Nathan what he could remember, anything that might help. "His ribs are pretty bruised, but he  
ain't had trouble breathing, so I'm guessing none of them is broke. Like I said, he was pretty dried out, but I been getting water in him, so I think the worst of that is over. I don't know how much blood he lost, but he ain't all cut up. Worst of the bleeding is on his scalp and you know... down below."

"He been awake much?" Nathan asked, trying to get a look at Vin's eyes. Nathan looked more and more worried, and that didn't do much to put Buck at  
ease.

"Not much at all, Nathan. He'll come around enough to swallow some water, but I don't think he even knows where is or who's with him. I can't figure out what's keeping him out, unless maybe that rifle butt to his jaw messed up his head too.

Nathan sighed, scratched his chin absently, then looked up at Chris then Buck. "Don't look like he got his head hit, just his face, least not enough to explain this unconsciousness. I'm gonna guess that it's exhaustion and maybe heatstroke that's kept him out. He'll probably start coming 'round more in the morning, once his body's had more time to rest itself and get stronger."

"You're guessing," Chris said, his voice cold and flat. Nathan lifted an eyebrow at him in response, obviously not intimidated.

"Guess is all I can do, Chris, you know that."

Tension filled the air, so thick Buck was surprised he could breathe. He'd known Chris would be filled with anger, but somehow he hadn't expected it to be this bad. When Chris got this quiet, someone, somewhere was going to pay.

Nathan turned his eyes to Buck. "Anything else I should know about?"

Buck swallowed and nodded. "Some blisters on his back and bottom and... low on his back, a pretty bad burn. Might wanna take a look."

Nathan peeled down the top half of the long-johns until they reached the swell of Vin's rear, exposing the figure burned into Vin's skin.

"A brand?" Chris shouted. "They fucking branded him?"

Chris kicked over the small tin pan that had held Buck's coffee, then paced furiously in small cirlces. "I'm gonna fucking kill 'em. Every last one with my bare hands."

A small whimper caught Buck's attention and he turned to see the indian boy cowering in his blanket. "Damn it, Chris, this ain't helping nobody," he hissed as he hurried to the boy's side, kneeling next to him and throwing a protective arm around his small shoulders.

Nathan and Chris both looked surprised to see the boy there; they hadn't noticed him at all, he realized. "It's all right, little fella. He makes a lot of noise with all that growling, but he won't hurt ya." The boy burrowed into Buck's side, as though he wanted to crawl into his coat with him.

Chris watched him, his expression curious, though the rage still simmered underneath. Nathan looked torn, wanting to get Vin as patched up as he could, but obviously wanting to come check on the boy, too. "Finish up there with Vin, Nathan. He'll be all right here with me a little longer. Bastards slit the little feller's throat, managed to miss the big veins, but he's lost a lot of blood. He's been drinking water and broth and managed to eat some crushed beans."

Chris turned back to Vin, watching every move Nathan made as he tended him. Nathan looked to be putting more salve on the brand. Buck saw in Chris' eyes the very second realization dawned. "Sonofabitch... Damn it!"

Chris slid a cold, accusing stare at Buck. "Yeah, Chris, I recognize it." Buck wouldn't deny that it'd come to him during the night where he'd seen that horse brand before.

"And you didn't say a goddamned thing? You let me stand here wasting time when I could be going after those bastards?" Chris stormed through the camp and towards his horse. "I'm riding now, and to hell with you if you don't want to help."

Buck settled the frightened boy back onto the blanket then ran to Chris and spun him 'round by the shoulders. "Will you stop and think, Larabee?"

The fist that came flying towards his jaw didn't surprise him. Buck had learned years before when to duck when Chris was like this. He grabbed Chris by the arms, and held him in front of him as tight as he could. "Damn it, Chris! You don't know where to start looking, you don't know how many there are and what you'd be up against if you do get lucky and find 'em. You ain't gonna do Vin a damn bit of good if you run off like this."

"I can't just stand here and do nothing, Buck!" Ah hell. The helplessness that twisted Chris' face felt like a knife in Buck's gut.

"Being here with Vin ain't doing nothing. Seeing that he gets home and gets over this ain't nothing. Chris, you are needed here!"

Chris shook his head, fury still glittering in his eyes. "I'm useless here."

"You think that's how Vin's gonna see it when he finally comes around?"

Chris just stared at him, and Buck could see the struggle inside him, etched on his face. Chris finally shrugged his arms free and scrubbed his hands over his face.

Buck sighed hard in relief. "Let's get him back to town and on the mend, and then we'll figure out how to get these sons o' bitches. We got our ideas of who it was, so we'll take it from there. You're not the only one who cares about him, you know."

Chris looked at Buck, his head tilted a little bit sideways and his eyes narrowed. It gave Buck a wicked shiver down his spine. 

"They're gonna pay for this, Buck."

Buck nodded. "I know."

Chris turned his back to Buck and watched Nathan fuss over Vin for a bit before whispering, so low Buck almost didn't hear him. "Why, Buck? JD says Chanu and another boy are dead. Vin's been tortured and a little kid's throat's been cut. Why?"

"You know I ain't got any more of an answer than you do. Why's not important."

"You're right. Important thing is that every single one of the bastards that did this is going to die. I'll hunt them down and string them up myself if I have to."

"Chris, even you can't take on the whole United States army."

"Watch me."


	4. 4

"Come on, Vin, you have to drink this if you're going to get better." Chris threw the canteen down in disgust and sat back on his heels. He hadn't been able to get any of the water actually into Vin. Half the water in the canteen dribbled down the side of his face and ran down his neck, soaking the blankets beneath him. 

Chris tried again, knowing the key to Vin's survival was getting him rehydrated. Nothing else mattered if his blood was so thick it couldn't pass through his veins. Buck said he'd gotten Vin to drink. If Buck could do it then Chris could damn well, too. Only, he was getting so frustrated with Vin's unresponsiveness, he knew he wasn't helping matters any.

Buck trotting into camp got Chris moving again, determined to see his lover drink. "C'mon, Vin," he pleaded as he tipped the canteen into Vin's mouth, "just swallow. I'm getting the water in, but I can't swallow for you."

He felt more than heard Buck coming up behind him and he tensed as Buck next to him. He tipped the canteen up again, but the water just dribbled out of Vin's mouth.

"It works better if you pull him into your lap and tilt his head back," Buck said softly.

"I don't want to hurt his back."

"He's not feeling anything right now and the water's more important."

"When did you get to be such a nursemaid?"

"Had a friend who liked to drink himself stupid a few years back. Thought he'd near killed himself a couple of times."

"Fuck off, Buck."

Buck reached out and grabbed the canteen from Chris' hand and motioned him to move back. "This ain't helping, Chris. If you can't do it, move aside and I will. I think he's used to me now." 

"Dammit, Buck, I can do it. Go see if Nathan needs your help. He's stitching up the kid." Chris grabbed the canteen back from Buck and tilted it towards Vin's mouth, but Buck grabbed it back out of his hands.

"I said you gotta pull him into your lap and dribble it in. Then you have to rub his throat a little till he swallows."

"Give. Me. The. Canteen."

"No. Lemme do it, Chris. I know how."

"Buck..."

"Chris..."

Nathan surprised the both of them by reaching in and grabbing the canteen. He glared at them before asking, "you two fools actually manage to get any of this into him?"

Chris glanced at Buck before looking back to Nathan and shaking his head.

"It's all right. I want to get his jaw set, but I've got to get him as relaxed as possible first. I'd rather not use laudenumn... it's not going to help him if he's still dried out. I got a broth for you to give him, it's got some herbs to relax his muscles, if you can manage."

"I can manage." Chris said, before looking at Buck, daring him to argue.

"I told him how to Nathan, but he ain't listening to me. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. How's Ticou?"

"Still asleep. I gave him a mixture of tea and laudenum - should keep him out 'til morning. We need to bring him home. I been thinking. It might be best to bring him back to town and send someone out to his people. Josiah should go. How long until you think him and JD are gonna get here?"

"Should be here anytime now," Chris said.

"Good, they can rest up. I think we should start back at first light. That OK with you two?"

Chris nodded in agreement and reached out to take the canteen Nathan held out. He'd been keeping his distance from Vin, afraid to hold him like Buck suggested. He wouldn't be able to hold anything back - and it wouldn't matter he had an audience. "I'll make sure he drinks it. Buck, you want to sleep or take watch?"

"I ain't slept in near two days. If you think you can handle Vin and watch, I'll sleep."

Chris nodded his agreement and watched Buck settle down a few feet away from the kid, with his back turned to Chris. Nathan headed off a ways, towards his horse, and Chris turned to study his sleeping lover - not unconscious, he told himself - his first chance to do so without anyone watching.

He ran his fingers down the unbruised side of Vin's face, gentle as he could and still touch him. It hurt to look at him, to know someone could hurt him so bad and Chris had no clue it was happening. Just like before. Not like before. Vin was alive and they... they weren't.

Staying by Vin's side, hell anyone's side 24 hours a day wasn't possible. Even if it was it'd be a sure way to turn love to hate. But it sure was tempting to try. 

He fussed with the blankets piled under Vin, propping him up on his side, wouldn't do for him to roll over onto his back. He had to be in plenty of pain as things stood, adding to it was the last thing Chris wanted to do. Only, he was going to have to if he was going to get some water into him.

"Vin?" he asked softly. "You in there, pard?" No answer, he hadn't expected one. Chris pulled his own saddle over to Vin's side and set it up so he'd have something to lean back on. He sat, legs stretched in front of him, back resting on the saddle and gently pulled Vin into his lap, making sure he stayed on his side. He'd try to get some of the tea down him in a few minutes, for now, he would just hold him.

Knowing Vin would live helped his mood some but holding him close, feeling the heat radiating from his busted jaw and burnt back - well, that heat was transferring to Chris and he knew it wouldn't be long before he had to do something about it. Like he told Buck, bastards who did this were going to pay with their lives. He didn't care if he had to kill the entire 7th calvary. He wished to hell they could be made to pay through the law, but that wasn't about to happen. When the murder victims were indians and the only witness a wanted man; well there wasn't getting around it, the law wouldn't help.

He pulled Vin closer to him, trying to find a place on him that wasn't bruised or cut, almost afraid to touch him. He turned Vin's head a little and held the canteen to his slack lips. "Come on, Vin," he coaxed, "I know you can hear me. You don't need to answer, just swallow a little of this. It will make you feel better." He held him close, gently stroking his cheek with his free hand. Long moments passed and Vin's breathing changed to let Chris know he was waking, if only a little.

"Vin?" he asked. "Can you hear me?" 

When Vin shifted, just a bit, in his arms, he felt better immediately. Truth was, he was starting to worry. Too much sun did funny things to a man's brains. He'd seen men addled for life after suffering heat stroke. Now if only Vin would open his eyes, let him know he was still in there, he'd feel even that much better.

Moments later and Vin did just that. When Chris saw Vin's eyes open, just slits instead of his normal wide, steady gaze, he said softly, "There you are, was starting to worry you'd never open your eyes."

Vin moaned, a pained, pitiful sound and Chris flinched. He shifted him a little, trying to find a more comfortable position, tried to stop the low keening. "Vin, it's me," he whispered. "It's all right. Me and Buck and Nathan are here and we got your back. It's over now, everything's OK." But it wasn't and Chris knew it. Vin knew it too, he could tell. Vin squeezed his eyes shut tight, a little moisture leaking from the corners. 

"Shh...," Chris said as he rocked him, at a total loss what to do next. Vin hitched in a deep breath and stopped moaning. His eyes slit open again and he regarded Chris, distance and something Chris couldn't name plain and visible. It hurt, hurt bad and Chris didn't know what to do to stop either of their hurt.

Vin rolled his eyes off to the side, taking in what he could of the little camp. He looked back to Chris, tears still leaking from the corners of his eyes. Chris saw the question, but didn't know what it was, let alone how to answer it. 

Did Vin need to hear who was alive, who was dead... or did he already know? Did he know just how bad he was hurt? Did he remember anything that had been done to him? All that could wait, Chris decided. He held the canteen within Vin's range of vision and gave him a questioning look. There was no response, but Chris lowered the canteen to Vin's lips anyway. He managed, finally, to get some of the broth into him and lowered the canteen back down.

"Your jaw is out of place," he told him, not sure if any of it was going to register. "Nathan says he needs to put it back right, but it's going to hurt. This broth has some herbs in it to take away some of the hurt."

Vin watched him talk and Chris saw understanding and still, that thing he couldn't name. He never saw anything like it in Vin's eyes before and it hit Chris hard. Vin was afraid. Of what he didn't know, but he didn't like that look, decided again to kill the bastards who put it there.

He rocked Vin slowly, knowing there was nothing else he could do. He didn't want to talk any more. He'd used up a month's worth of words already and even thinking of something, anything to say to take that look from Vin's eyes made his head hurt and his stomach clench. 

He held him close and fed him the rest of the canteen. He used up more patience than he even knew he had and when the canteen was empty, he started rocking Vin slowly, gentling him back to sleep. He hoped he would stay that way until long after Nathan finished what needed to be done.

Once he was sure Vin was out, Chris called into the darkenss, "Nathan?"

Movement from beyond the light of the fire and Nathan came into view. "You done good, Chris," Nathan said as he came closer. "Think you can hold him like that while I try to set his jaw?"

Chris nodded and Nathan crouched next to him. He put his hand to Vin's forehead and held it there for a moment. "Don't feel too fevered, considering. He's not out of danger yet, fever could still take him and if that happens, there's not much left we can do but pray. I have some willow bark with me, but not enough if he starts up a fever. I gave most of what I had to Ticou. He's so small a bad fever could kill him in just a few hours."

"Is he going to be all right, Nathan?"

"Vin? Or Ticou?"

"Vin."

"I don't know, Chris. Fever's his biggest risk, like I said. He's healthy though and a healthy man can usually make it through a bad fever."

"And a man healthy as a horse can die from a small cut. We've both seen it enough."

"True 'nough. Let's not borrow trouble. You want to hold him while I try to get that jaw back in place?"

Chris nodded and Nathan went to work. 

Chris hoped he never had to see a man's jaw reset ever again. It was a long, painful process and it wasn't pretty. Especially when the patient insisted on staying conscious. Vin hadn't made a sound since he first woke, wouldn't even make eye contact any more. Once they finished with his jaw and backed off, he didn't want to be touched, either. Hell, if he were in Vin's place, he wouldn't either. There wasn't a square inch on his body that didn't bear some sort of mark.

So Chris settled next to him, prepared to get some rest before they set off in the morning. Vin lay on his side, facing Chris, his eyes closed, but obviously awake. Nathan was laying out supplies behind Vin and Vin flinched every time Nathan shifted - toward or away from him.

Nathan nodded to Chris from behind Vin, motioning him closer.

"Vin," Chris called softly, "I know you're awake. I'm going to talk to Nathan for a minute. I'll be right back." He reached out to Vin and softly patted his shoulder, encouraged when he didn't flinch or back away.

"What?" Chris asked as he and Nathan walked away from Vin.

Nathan studied Chris for a minute, but Chris couldn't tell what was on Nathan's mind. Finally, Nathan asked, "You OK?"

"What?" 

"Are you all right?"

"Me? I'm not the one lying there half beat to death."

"I know, Chris. But Vin's not really with us right now. All I can do for him is try to make him comfortable until morning. You look like you're ready to bolt and I need your help."

"With what?"

"He's gonna have a hard time of it."

"Something you want to share that I don't already know?"

"I been thinkin'. Once we're sure he's starting to recover, I don't think town'll be the best place for 'im."

"Why not?"

"He's apt to be jumpy for awhile and town gets noisy."

"Vin isn't jumpy."

"Chris. It's going to take him a long time to get over this."

Chris stared at Nathan, eyes glittering hard in the low firelight. "That your medical opinion, Nathan?" He asked.

"You know I aint' a doctor and I don't pretend to be. I've seen men hurt like this before..." seeing Chris about to interrupt, Nathan raised his hand, physically holding back Chris' words. "I know he's strong, but what they did to him... and I ain't just talking about using him... he's not gonna get better in a day or even a week. Don't push him and give him some breathing room. It's the only thing I know to do for him, once he's out of danger, physically. Back home... where I was raised... I seen stronger men taken down by less. Seen the life sucked out of 'em till there was nothing left but a body goin' through the motions."

"Vin isn't most men. I know him. He'll be fine."

"I hope so, Chris. But put yourself in his place. Remember how you were once you came home from Jericho?"

"This isn't the same!"

"I know... I know... But Chris, he seen Chanu and the other boy tortured and killed. Saw Ticou get his throat slit... and the things they done to him... I'm just tryin to say to take it easy with him. You're coiled so tight, you gonna snap in half. I think you should take him out to your place, but not if you can't control yourself."

"I can control myself just fine, Nathan."

"No, Chris, you control everyone else with your temper. Vin don't fall for it. You can't bully him into his old self."

"It's way too soon to be having this conversation. I'm going sit with him until morning. It's going to be a rough trip back."

"Suit yourself. You will anyhow. Just think on what I said Chris, that's all I'm askin'."

"Goodnight, Nathan."

Nathan looked like he was about to say something else, so Chris stared at him, hard, until he backed off. Once he was sure Nathan had backed down, Chris returned to his vigil. He might not have been there when he could have stopped what was done, but he'd be there now. And he didn't use his temper to control people! He went his own way and kept his own council. If other people stayed out of his way, so be it. 

He sat, smoking his cheroot, watching the flicker of the fire, almost mesmerized, exhausted from a long day in the saddle and gave a little more thought to what Nathan had tried to tell him. He knew Vin, knew him better than any of the others did and he was confident Vin would be fine. Might take a few days, but he'd be OK. 

When Chris heard JD and Josiah, they were still a ways off, making such a ruckus anyone on higher ground for ten miles could have heard them. He was getting ready to tell them to hush, as soon as he saw them, then decided to keep his mouth shut. He *didn't* use his notorious temper to control people, no matter what Nathan seemed to think. Besides, the danger had long since passed. Nathan figured Vin had lain, tied down, spread eagle in the full sun for at least half a day and a night, maybe more. The men that done this were long gone.

Once the two were in the camp, Chris rose and threw his cheroot into the fire. "One of you take watch, the other sleep. We're leaving at first light."

"Chris?" Josiah called.

"What?" Couldn't they do what they were told without questioning him? He was conscious of the way he sounded, kind of like a cougar with a hungry belly. Damn Nathan, now he was questioning every word he spoke, and worse, the tone he used. He waited for Josiah to speak his piece, but Buck was up off his bedroll and stretching, ready to run interference. Good old Buck.

"I'll fill you boys in," Buck said. "Chris here, ain't had any sleep yet."

Chris looked to Buck, trying to show his gratitude without saying anything. He laid out his bedroll next to Vin, close enough to touch and settled in for the rest of the night, Buck's soft whispers to the others just loud enough to hear. If Buck knew what was good for him, he wouldn't go into detail of how they'd found Vin. Chris listened for a bit, not able to relax until he was sure Buck wasn't going to go talking out of turn, telling the others things they had no right to know, even if they were friends.


	5. 5

************************

"Easy, pard. We'll have you home soon."

He knew that voice; he'd been dreaming of it for so long. Thought he'd heard it before, but nothing seemed real. The world was miles away. Was it real this time? He tried to open his eyes, but they were stuck together and then he was moving.

"You got him?"

He knew that voice too, was sure he'd heard it since everything went white. Buck. Buck and Chris were real, he wasn't dreaming this time. He was almost sure. Then the world tilted and everything went white again. 

"Chris..." he tried to say, wasn't sure how it came out but a hand grabbed his, that was real.

"It's alright, Vin. We'll have you loaded up soon."

He squeezed the hand and gritted his teeth... immediately he let out a long, low groan. That sound couldn't be coming from him. He hadn't made a sound in days. Made the soldiers madder than a stepped on rattler. No matter what they did or said, he hadn't made a sound. Not when they'd gutted Chanu, or tortured Mesau. They'd skinned the boy alive, laughed at the child's screams of fear and pain. They'd played with him for hours, Vin struggling silently against his bonds while the thirteen year old was skinned limb by limb. He'd lived after they were through, his death neither merciful nor quick. Then they'd come back to Vin.

He squeezed his eyes tight, he wouldn't think about that. He concentrated on the pain, it took away the visions that would never leave him. They would be added to his collection of horrors that sat in his memory, boxed up as tight as the rest. 

He hurt everywhere. Wasn't a place on him he could concentrate on to make it all go away. He'd been taught by his grandfather's mother's people, and taught well. Was one of the things they were to teach the boys during this ceremonial trip. The tribes were dwindling and it was important to carry on the traditions of the people. He understood that, before. They needed to know things. Things like their history, how to sing their grandfather's grandfather's songs, how to find game during the dry season, how to cure it, how to build hunting bows and war bows. How to provide for those that couldn't, women and children, the elders, the infirm. How to withstand things like a man, not utter a sound your enemies could use against you. Nothing to give them satisfaction. It was too late, for all but him. He'd seen the youngest soldier cut Ticou's throat, giving him a merciful death before they could turn to him for their next entertainment. It fell to Vin to entertain them after that and he wasn't sorry the soldier had spared the child through a violent and bloody death. 

Oh spirits! He was moving again, but he didn't have to hold back the sound of his pain from these men. They wouldn't use it against him. He tried to open his eyes, his mouth, but his eyes were glued shut and something held his mouth closed. He wouldn't panic! His arms and legs were free, he could move. He wasn't on his belly, he wasn't staked out spread eagle, vulnerable, helpless. Was this a dream? Or was that the dream? Once he'd let the sounds out, he couldn't seem to stop them... another reason to hold them inside. When he joined his great grandmother's tribe, after the death of his grandfather, after wandering the west alone until he'd found his grandfather's mother... they'd taught him the important things... things he never understood the importance of until long past his time with them. To have those days back... it was something he never allowed himself to wish for... but they came back in his dreams. 

His dreams ended, he was left with reality... Hands all over him, hurting him, lifting him, turning him. He couldn't stop them, weaker than a newborn kitten like he was. Blind as one too. "No," he breathed out, hoping they'd hear him and quit moving him. "Stop," he tried again, but even to him, it was barely loud enough to hear. He couldn't move his jaw and had to talk through his teeth. He hadn't stopped moaning, he knew that much. Spirits, couldn't they just leave him be, let him gather some strength before starting in on him again. He waited for the taunts... 'Traitor! Half-breed!' a hundred other slurs hurled at him along with the boots kicking him, the knife raking along his scalp, flashing near his face, threatening to slit his throat like they'd done the boy.

"Stop moving him. Stop!" 

That voice again, right near his ear. Please don't let this be a dream... let this be real, he begged. 

"Vin? Vin?"

The hand holding his again and he couldn't stand it anymore. He didn't need to fight anymore. He had someone to watch his back, to fight for him when he couldn't. Even if he was still dreaming, he didn't want to fight anymore. So he didn't.

*********

Chris tried not to fall asleep, he didn't want to drop Vin. He held him in his arms, stretched along his lap. His body was a softer bed than the one they'd built for Vin in the wagon. His flesh absorbed the shock of the cross country, rough trip. Until they reached a road, which was a long ways off, he would shield Vin. He'd do anything to stop his pain, but all he had to give was his body. 

Chris'd seen things in the war he hoped to never witness again. The cruelty of men to other men, limbs blown from bodies, strewn around the battlefield, gore and innards hanging from corpses, bayonetted bodies, human scavengers picking the still warm corpses clean. He'd been at the liberation of prisoner of war camps, saw men hanged on the side of the road... collaborators, escaped slaves. But none of it was personal. None of it was deliberate, calculated torture. He'd read of such things, never dreaming he'd see it in person. 

When he read stories of the Inquisition, he'd imagined the stories to be exaggerated, never thought a man could torture the way the books told. Stories of the indian wars also seemed somehow fictitious... but he'd met survivors... ex-captives who told very real stories. He'd even seen a shriveled scalp once, when he'd been a cocky teenager back in Indiana. No one still living had seen the indian wars around his boyhood home, but his best friend, Jonathan Knight, his grandfather had a scalp. All the boys had been itching to see it, had even paid Jon a penny for the privilege. It hadn't seemed real, back then; it did now.

He was a hard man, he knew it. He'd killed more than his share, in his time, some he'd called out just for looking at him too long, but this was foreign to him. Those had been able bodied men looking for a challenge. Not children or men tied to the ground, playthings for amusement.

He cradled Vin is his arms, fighting the drowsiness brought on by the warmth of the sun on his face, tried to think of something that would cause him to do something like this to another person. Told himself if he ever caught Ella Gaines, he would never torture her to death, no matter how much he may want to. Enough philosophy, he chastised himself. The why didn't matter, men who could do this were no longer men and deserved to be put down like rabid dogs. Maybe revenge wouldn't bring back what was lost, but it sure as hell would keep them from ever hurting someone again. If they could skin a child, like Buck described, what else were they capable of?

He felt the drowsiness pulling at him again, almost let it take him, but the wagon coming to an abrupt stop had him wide awake and reaching for his gun. "Trouble?" he called out as he craned his neck to see ahead.

"No." Nathan answered. He swung down from the seat and climbed into the bed. "How's he doing?

"Seems to be a bit warm, but he hasn't moved." 

"He's sweating."

"I know, he started a little after we got him in the wagon. Is that good or bad?"

"It's real good. His pulse is stronger, too." Nathan ran his hands along Vin's chest, under his arms, down lower.

Chris didn't watch as Nathan checked Vin over. At first he'd been angry when Nathan felt parts of Vin he knew Vin wouldn't want touched, but Nathan explained the way heat left a body, the fastest way too cool down a person who was too hot. He'd tried to detach himself from what he was seeing but it wasn't working. He couldn't get Vin's cries of pain when they'd moved him out of his thoughts. "Does his jaw have to be held closed like that?" he asked when Nathan tightened the bandage looped around Vin's head and under his jaw.

"Yep, sure does. He's gonna need to keep that bandage on for about a month, I figure. The muscles holdin his bottom jaw need to heal, or it'll keep poppin outta place." Nathan sat back on his heels and held out a canteen. "Here, next time we stop, try to get half of that into him. Sooner he's drinking and passing, sooner he's going to be back with us."

"How am I supposed to give this to him if his mouth's tied shut?"

"We'll stop at the river and find some river weed. He can't use it yet, but when he's awake, he should be able to drink through the straw. For now, we'll unwrap him when we need to get some water into him. Gotta get some food into him, too, but it's going to be tough. Water and broth will have to keep him goin for now."

"He can't eat like this."

"He's not going to be able to stand the pain of chewing for a time, anyways, so we're just gonna have to figure a way to get something he can handle. He's starting to get a fever. We need to get him back to town."

"Not going to be a smooth ride, not until we get to a road."

"I know, keep holding him like you are, Chris, and he'll have an easier time of it. Soon as the horses are watered, we'll head out. You need anything?"

"A week's worth of sleep."

"You can sleep when we get back to four corners. Buck and JD should have everything ready when we get there. Josiah's going to head out to the village and let Kojay know what's happened."

"The kid going to be OK?"

"He's doing good, physically. He's riding with Buck still, but I'm going to have him back here with you in a bit. He lost so much blood it's a wonder he can hold his own head up. Seems to be pretty attached to Buck. You got any idea why he don't want to be near Vin?"

"Probably brings too many memories. Can't blame him, he's just a boy."

"You're probably right. Get some sleep, Chris."


End file.
